Plane may have run out of fuel

The Boeing 737 split into three parts as it crash landed in a field near runway 1 of Schiphol Airport. Photo: Paul Vreeker, Getty ImagesEmergency services work at the scene of the crashVictims are treated by emergency services at the scene where the plane crashed. Photo: Paul Vreeker, Getty Images

The Turkish Airline's plane may have run out of fuel before crashing near Amsterdam's Schiphol airport yesterday killing at least nine people, airport officials suggested last night.

The plane's fuel load was running low before the accident, the officials said. The crash is Turkish Airlines' fourth fatal incident in 15 years.

The carrier's last fatal crash was on January 8, 2003, when an RJ-100 built by BAE Systems Plc went down in fog, killing 70 passengers and five crew.

In April 1999, six died when a Boeing 737-400 carrying only crew crashed shortly after takeoff; in 1994, 57 were killed when another 737 hit terrain on its approach. All three accidents occurred in Turkey.

"As modern airlines go, Turkish Airlines does not have a good accident record, having experienced two fatal crashes in the last 10 years," said David Learmount, a former Royal Air Force pilot and safety editor of Flight International.